Dougie
Wright
Wurzels
session drummer (1969-1976)
 Dougie
Wright (also credited as Douggie Wright) was born in Leeds in 1937.
He is a self-taught drummer and percusionist, who's musical journey
spans every genre through a period in British musical history which
changed the face of popular music.
His
first came to prominence as a jazz drummer - strange how so many
of the Wurzels have their roots in jazz! - during the British beat
boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He played with the Bill
Marsden Band in Leeds before teaming up with the band's
former saxman Jimmy Stead in the John Barry Seven
(replacing Ken Golder, the group's original drummer). Dougie then
joined the joined the Ted Taylor Four in October
1962 before dropping out of the jazz scene to develop his reputation
as a session musician, based in London.
Dougie
became a highly respected session drummer who played on over seventy
hit records through the 1960s and 1970s, including Hi Ho Silver
Lining, Je T'Aime, World Without Love, Make
it Easy on Yourself, Beautiful Sunday, My Coo
Ca Choo, What do you Want and albums by Cilla Black,
Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, The Wurzels, Petula Clark and
many more international artists.
Although
never a true member of The Wurzels - we have no record of him playing
at any of their gigs - Dougie was drafted in to provide some of
the drumming on the 1969 Carry On Cutler! album along with
drummer Eddie Clayton, the 1975 The
Wurzels Are Scrumptious!
album (along with drummers Andy White and Tony
Fennell), and again along with Andy White
- and rather cryptically credited 'for their support' - on the 1976
Combine Harvester album. Sadly this means we have no way
of knowing which songs Dougie (or Eddie, Andy and Tony) actually
drummed on.
Dougie's
claim to Scrumpy & Western fame is that he co-wrote the song
Good Old Somerset on the Golden
Delicious album; an album which he never drummed on. Having
missed out on the Golden Delicious and Give Me England!
albums, Dougie is the only credited drummer on
the 1978 I'll Never Get A Scrumpy Here.
 By
the mid-1970s, Dougie moved away from session work and went back
to his first love - jazz. He joined the Eddie Thompson Trio
and later with the Harry Stoneham's Band; supplementing
his income by teaching drumming. In the 1990s, he was living in
Leicester and teaching music at the college level. Dougie
is currently drumming with 'Dixieland Fun Band' Fidgety
Feet (pictured right) where is "having fun by
providing percussion sounds in this band which he feels sure is
quite unique in style and appearance and enjoyed by people of all
ages who like to tap their fidgety feet and enjoy fun music".
Have a look at the pictures of the band on the front of their wbesite,
and you will see why Dougie was under-used by The Wurzels. Anyone
willing to dress up like that should be more than happy dressed
and performing live as a Wurzel!
Dougie
has his own website (under construction) at http://www.dougiewright.com.
Wurzel
Discography
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